Senegalese authorities charged former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre with genocide and crimes against humanity and remanded him in custody on Tuesday in a prosecution seen by many as a milestone for African justice.
The 70-year-old was also charged with war crimes and torture during his eight years in power in Chad, where rights groups say 40,000 people were killed under his rule, a court source and his lawyers told AFP.
Habre's legal team said genocide was among the main charges he faced and that he would be remanded in custody in Dakar.
Habre – once dubbed "Africa's Pinochet" – had been in a police cell in the Senegalese capital since his arrest on Sunday at the home he shares with his wife and children, according to a security source.
Mbacke Fall, a prosecutor with a special court set up in February to try Habre, told a media conference on Monday he wanted Habre kept in custody after finding "serious and corroborating evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity and torture".
The Punch
There is crime in so many African countries today so we just hope our presidents are working really hard to make things work.